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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28260447">all that kindred eyes can see</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/natigail/pseuds/natigail'>natigail</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Teachers, Gen, Holiday Fic Exchange, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, POV Outsider, School, Secret Relationship, Teacher Dan Howell, Teacher Phil Lester, but also DnP it will make sense when you read</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 20:08:44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>16,617</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28260447</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/natigail/pseuds/natigail</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Teachers Dan and Phil figure that they could quite easily keep their relationship secret while working at the same school. It's only for half a year after all. But the keen eyes of a trio of friends soon start to pick up on little hints and clues. It's a good thing the students mostly just want to admire their love and figure themselves out along the way.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dan Howell/Phil Lester</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>82</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Phandom Fic Fests Holiday Exchange 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>all that kindred eyes can see</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/slg05/gifts">slg05</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Prompt: Dan and Phil are teachers at the same school in a secret relationship. Everything else is up to you. Can end with a relationship reveal but doesn’t have to.</p><p>I hope you like this! I kind of took your note of everything else being up to me quite far but your prompt inspired this idea and I just have to write it. Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays!</p><p>Note: This story features kids that are lowkey figuring out their sexuality and gender identity, which include one of them realising they are nonbinary and change their pronouns half-way through</p><p> *~*~* indicates a change in point of view</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Dan wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to apply for the temporary position that opened up at Phil’s school. It was a good opportunity, a chance to get some actual teaching experience under his skin but it was also scary.</p><p>Phil wouldn’t hear of Dan not trying for the position. He had gotten Dan’s resumé and submitted it on his behalf after Dan had dragged his feet for too long. Phil had warned him beforehand that he would do it and Dan hadn’t protested.</p><p>They had been together for a long time, years already, and they knew the extend of each other’s boundaries. Dan was incapable of making an impulsive decision. If he had gone over it in his head again and again all the things that would go wrong.</p><p>Dan had just finished his teaching degree and he had no real practical experience other than what they had gone through as part of the degree. He was an out and proud gay man who had accidentally made the front page of the Guardian last pride parade. He had argued that he couldn’t work in a place where his partner worked already because it could create all kinds of problems for them. In particularly for Phil with his permanent position as an English teacher.</p><p>It had all sort of worked itself out in the end.</p><p>Once the acceptance of applications closed, Phil had recommended Dan for the position to the principal, citing him as an old friend instead, and with that he had gotten called in for a job interview that he had absolutely nailed. They had even been excited to have a gay man on staff. It seemed like the tides were finally turning slightly more in favour of LGBTQ+ people, or maybe the principal just wanted to be progressive. None of them knew for sure.</p><p>Now only one thing remained for them to deal with.</p><p>And that accidentally came quite easy too.</p><p>Phil had started at the school last year and he had never come out to the staff, not seeing why his sexuality would have to be a big issue for his work place, and as an extension of that, Phil had never talked about his partner through many years. Everyone just assumed he was single and straight, so no one would suspect that he and Dan were together.</p><p>“We can do this, right?” Dan had asked, the night before his first day as the school’s new drama teacher. “Pretend we don’t know each other?”</p><p>“We don’t have to pretend we don’t know each other,” Phil reminded him, reaching over to intertwine their fingers. His voice dropped a little low. “Just that we don’t kiss and don’t-”</p><p>“Phil, I’m nervous right now. Don’t dare make me horny the night before my big day,” Dan said, half kidding and half serious.</p><p>Phil hummed and then let himself roll on top of Dan. Dan let out a snort and looked up at him with bright eyes. They had finally gotten their own flat a year ago and since then both of them had gotten lost in the easy and wonderful domestic life.</p><p>Phil couldn’t wait to start going to work with Dan too, even if they couldn’t act as a couple at the work place. It was too late to confirm it now that Dan had gone for the interview and been hired and none of them had said anything.</p><p>It would be okay and frankly; it wasn’t anyone’s business what they were doing in their private life. The world might be getting slightly better day by day for queer people, at least in their part of the world, but it was by no means entirely safe or free from judgement and homophobia.</p><p>They should only be judged on their ability to teach and nothing else. </p><p>This wouldn’t last that long. Dan’s temporary position was only from school start until after Christmas. Less than six months. They could do this. Their lips found each other, soft comfortable kisses of someone who had already shared a thousand like it.</p><p>*~*~*</p><p>People always seemed to think that three people in a friendship group was a little odd, or like someone always had to be the odd one out. It was never like that for three of the students just starting in Year 6. They had been stuck together since they had started in the same grade three years prior. All transfer students, which might be what had made them gravitate towards each other.</p><p>Or maybe it was just a deep sense of sameness. After all, no one could be the odd one out when every member of the trio was an oddball.</p><p>Quinn was by far the most outspoken of them, always quick to catch both the good and the bad attention in class. If she ever didn’t know an answer to anything, she would make something up and argue it frivolously no matter the real facts. It could infuriate most of her teachers, and she had learned one time too many that “mouthing off” or “causing a distraction in class” could get her sent to the principal for a chat. It didn’t stop her from talking the next time but she was getting better and better at toeing the line with each passing year. She had naturally taken to care for her two friends and speaking up when they couldn’t or wouldn’t speak up for themselves.</p><p>Alex was a kind of opposite of Quinn, being a quiet kid that hardly ever said a word in class despite being able to complete any quiz to near perfection. She hated when teachers would call on her because fear of not knowing the answer was something settled deep within her, even more so because of the “smart” label that had been stuck on her since she was a young child. Now she would usually tug on Quinn’s sleeve and whisper the answer. She was a wonder with a computer, taking to any programmes or games with ease.</p><p>Jieun was labelled an “art kid” by everyone in school for her inability to keep her hands from drawing on any paper she was handed. Little illustrations, everything from animals to flowers to people to buildings or landscapes were littered on all of her notes and tests. Some of the teachers had tried to scold her out of it, saying that it was childish and wrong. She never listened to them, mentally turning out the noise, humming under her breath and drawing happily. She had Quinn and Alex to help her out with homework when she needed and she was overall managing. It wasn’t her fault that she’d rather draw than read or do math.</p><p>That trio of ragtag children were regarded with a bit of apprehension from all of the teachers at the school, except for one. Where most would try to call them out on their distracted or disruptive behaviours, there was one class that they always looked forward to since they had gotten a new teacher.</p><p>Mr Lester was their undeniable favourite and he had actually managed to get them interested in English despite none of them having shown interest in it much prior to his arrival. Quinn had thought it too stupid and based on completely arbitrary standards, Alex did better with topics that had a more structured approach and rules and Jieun had never much seen the appeal for words when a picture was worth a thousand words.</p><p>Because Mr Lester had never cut off Quinn’s rambling and instead encouraged her to talk more, to work out why she didn’t like or did like something about the texts, she has started to understand why choices in literature mattered. Because Mr Lester had never forced Alex to speak up in class but instead asked her to stay behind for a beat and give her thoughts to him directly, she had felt more comfortable with it and likewise learned the rules of the game when it came to how to look at language. Because Mr Lester had spoken about how books and literature was literally painting with words instead of paint, Jieun had started to pay attention and seen that the two did actually go well hand in hand.</p><p>It was sufficed to say that returning for school in Year 6, the trio were most excited to meet back up with each other every single day after a summer holiday but they were the second most excited to have class with Mr Lester again.</p><p>They could never have imagined that they would get another favourite teacher that year.</p><p>*~*~*</p><p>Dan was nervous for his first day like he had never been nervous for anything ever before. It had nearly spiralled into him wondering why he had chosen to get a degree that would put him in a position to deal with children on the daily.</p><p>More so, be responsible to help prepare the children for what they would need to know. At least he was teaching drama, which in general seemed to be considered a bit of a slack subject. The expectations wouldn’t be that high for him, even less so because he was only there for the extent of half a school year before the original drama teacher got back from the leave she had been allowed from the school. Something about travelling the world by boat or something, Dan wasn’t sure.</p><p>Phil had stopped him from spiralling too far out, like he always did. On days like these, Dan was even more thankful for Phil’s steady presence next to him in life. It made him feel like he was never quite facing anything alone since he always had someone to talk to and someone to lean on.</p><p>“You look fine,” Phil told Dan, physically pulling Dan’s hands away from his own hair so that he would stop messing with the curls. It was a relative new style, no longer flat ironing it to death like he had done when they met years ago. Phil like both equally for different reasons but the look suited Dan.</p><p>“They’re going to all laugh at me, Phil,” Dan said. “Children can be cruel.”</p><p>Phil hummed under his breath. “True, but it’s our job to try to make them less so. Try to teach them to move forward with kindness and try to inspire them to make the world just a little better.”</p><p>Dan nodded in agreement. “Well, you might not be able to change the world but you can change individuals.”</p><p>“Indeed,” Phil said, leaning in to press a kiss to Dan’s cheek. “And you’re going to be great at that. You’re so compassionate and soft-spoken. You’re going to teach all of those kids so much more than how to act. You’re going to give them an appetite for the world, for performing and for being themselves.”</p><p>“Yikes, cool it, will you?” Dan said but with a laugh bubbling up. “Don’t make me more nervous.”</p><p>“I wonder if you can guess my favourite students,” Phil mused, reaching over to correct one of Dan’s curls despite being the person who pulled Dan’s hand back from fiddling with them a moment prior.</p><p>“I thought you weren’t supposed to have favourites.”</p><p>Phil blew out a raspberry. “That’s parents. Teachers are absolutely allowed to have favourites. And I have mine. Three ten years olds that are too smart for their own good but not in a way that’s always recognised.”</p><p>“I’ll keep an eye out for them,” Dan said.</p><p>“Please do,” Phil said, pulling his hand back, even if he could have continued to play with Dan’s hair. That was what he was doing now, more than actually styling it. It was Dan’s fault for having such lovely and soft hair.</p><p>*~*~*</p><p>Quinn, Alex and Jieun were not paying attention to the assembly at all. They were far more occupied with talking between themselves, hushed whispered in an already loud auditorium because they needed to keep each other up on the last couple of weeks where none of them had been able to meet up.</p><p>However, almost as if called, they started to pay attention when the new teachers were called. It was an instinctive reaction. Almost exactly a year ago, they had looked up on the little stage and seen who would become all of their favourite teacher for the first time. Mr Lester had looked so nervous, fitting his hands into his pant pocket at an odd angle but he had seemed nice.</p><p>Sincere and genuine and it was enough to spark interest from all of the trio.</p><p>It had only gotten better from then on out when he had started to modify his teaching methods to be able to include every kid in his class, not just the ones who thrived in a traditional environment. It was Alex who had argued something about that, suddenly interested in different types of learning and quietly citing passages from different books to Quinn and Jieun.</p><p>“We have a new teacher joining us this year,” the principal called out. “As you may or may not know, Marge is currently out sailing the seas.”</p><p>“Like a pirate?” someone called out from the audience.</p><p>“Er… sure, like a pirate,” the principal said.</p><p>Alex wrinkled her nose. “Mrs Cornell is not a pirate. She’s a nearly retired drama teacher with frivolous ideas?”</p><p>“What’s that word?” Quinn asked, hushed voice and still watching the principal batting away more questions about pirates.</p><p>“Someone who is carefree or superficial, basically someone who isn’t serious,” Alex said. This was a relatively new development, a new habit that she had picked up last spring when Mr Lester had told her that every word had a whole bit of knowledge locked into it.</p><p>Alex had been reading the dictionary on occasion ever since then. All three of them used that to impress Mr Lester in classes now, because as always Alex shared with her friends first.</p><p>“Shh,” Jieun said, for once putting down the sketchbook in her hand. She went through one of those books every single month, after making a set mission to draw enough to fill the pages in a whole month. It was a challenge set by Alex who liked the order and told Jieun how it would make it so much easier to look back at her artistic progress.</p><p>The three of them turned their attention back on the stage. A tall adult was stepping up. He was very tall, he might even be taller than Mr Lester. He looked almost more like a kid than several of the dusty old teachers behind him. He had a kind face and curly hair and he moved almost like Mr Lester had done on his first day.</p><p>“He’s nervous,” Alex said under her breath. “Really nervous.”</p><p>“Hi everyone,” the tall man said. Jieun, who was the smallest out of their group, wondered what it would be like to see the world from that height. Frightening, she would assume. “My name is Dan Howell and I am going to be your new drama teacher until January when Marge Cornell hopefully makes it back after having sailed the seas under her pirate flag.”</p><p>“Mr Howell,” Quinn muttered to herself, in contemplation.</p><p>The auditorium was instantly filled with voices again, more question about Mrs Cornell being a pirate. Mostly from some of the younger kids. Alex found it endearing but she was still happy to have properly educated herself and her friends.</p><p>There was no such thing as pirates from the stories they had read, or seen in Pirates of the Caribbean. A movie most of them were probably too young to watch but there were perks to growing up with the internet.</p><p>“He looks… kind,” Alex noted, in a contemplative hum.</p><p>Jieun didn’t say anything but she was flipping open her sketchbook and drawing an outline of a new face already. Quinn and Alex both leaned over, itching to see how Jieun would capture Mr Howell on the page. It was always fun to see what she focused on first. She looked at the world so differently than both of them did but that only made them more interested and fascinated and fond.</p><p>The curls came first, even more messy than real Mr Howell’s curls and then eyes, big and expressive.</p><p>It took a full minute to calm the children down again, and with each passing second another pencil line was put down in Jieun’s sketch. She loved to get like this, all of the world fading around her and becoming absorbed in just working her hand across the page and capturing the image she had in her head for everyone else to see too.</p><p>“Oh, and there is something I want to tell you all,” Mr Howell said, stepping back up to the microphone.</p><p>Quinn always argued that the auditorium wasn’t that big and anyone who wasn’t a coward would just shout instead of using the microphone. Mr Howell got the benefit of doubt because it was his first time here but all the other teachers and the principal in particular was on thin ice according to her.</p><p>“I am gay.”</p><p>Unlike with the pirate declaration, everyone went quiet. It was so quiet that everyone’s breaths were the only sound in the room. The trio knew of the word, with Alex as their friend, of course they did, and general access to the internet.</p><p>But it wasn’t something any of them really talked much about.</p><p>“Gay, a person who is homosexual, as in attracted to someone of the same gender. Usually a man. But it can also be used broader to refer to other sexualities that aren’t straight, heterosexual,” Alex cited under her breath, almost like she couldn’t help herself.</p><p>“Very true,” Mr Howell said and Alex jolted when he looked right at her. “To simplify it, I’m a guy who likes guys.”</p><p>Someone raised their hand in the back of the room.</p><p>“But aren’t adults like you supposed to have a wife? To have children?”</p><p>The smile on Mr Howell’s face was a little guarded but still warm and nice. Quinn was busy trying to make sense of this new information. A gay teacher. It seemed like it was something important. She wasn’t sure why but it felt very important. There was something about the whole thing that made her want to sit at the edge of the seat and just marvel in wonder.</p><p>An adult talking about liking someone like yourself. It was not something she had ever seen before and he said it so easily, like it wasn’t a bad thing.</p><p>“Well, not all adults get married. But if I did, I would have a husband instead of a wife,” Mr Howell said and for the briefest moment, his eyes flickered behind him. Alex seemed to be the only one who caught it. “And I could still have children, I would just need to adopt. Give a child who needed a home a safe and happy one.”</p><p>Softly mutters were starting to spread through the auditorium. Some sounded angry or confused, others were soft with genuine wonder. The trio of oddballs were quiet, just watching, thinking and drawing.</p><p>Alex’s eyes followed Mr Howell as he walked back to sit against the wall with the other teachers and this time, she was sure he looked off to the left on purpose. She followed his gaze and found Mr Lester.</p><p>He was smiling like he did when they got something right in class. Bright and happy. He was happy that Mr Howell was gay that much was clear to Alex.</p><p>She bumped Quinn’s elbow.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Look at the stage, look at Mr Lester,” Alex said.</p><p>At her words, Jieun also looked up and soon all three kids were staring at Mr Lester while the rest of the room were either staring at Mr Howell or the principal trying to get through the rest of assembly and shut down conversations about adoption and being gay.</p><p>“Oh,” Jieun said, a soft and surprised sounds. “He looks like he’s in love.”</p><p>That moment was the start of something that none of the three of them knew at the time. Someone with less understanding might call it an obsession with how they would grow to become fascinated with two of their teachers. Those people would be wrong.</p><p>It was them finding bits of themselves in what they were convinced that they saw between Mr Lester and Mr Howell’s gazes when they caught each other’s eyes, soft smiles and a complete disregard for the rest of the world around them.</p><p>This was the first spark of interest for the trio.</p><p>*~*~*</p><p>It was on the second day of classes that Phil got question that he hadn’t been prepared for but he was almost pleasantly surprised. It was one of the Year 6 classes and Phil might say that it was one of his favourite classes to teach. The classroom was filled by curious and smart students who might not always do their homework but over the past year, Phil had managed to figure how to engage every single one of them in discussions and conversations.</p><p>“Mr Lester, does gay really mean to like boys?” one of the boys chirped up from the back.</p><p>Phil should probably have expected it to come up at some point. He had instituted this little segment at the beginning of all of his classes where he allowed students to come with any words they had learned and he would explain more about them.</p><p>It had been made into a game now, and often the students would come with the most obscure words that they would think of just to watch Phil stumble and fumble to try to explain. Sometimes he couldn’t and he would have to look it up, but he was honest about that. He felt like it was probably good for kids to learn that no one had all the answers and also that there wasn’t any shame in having to figure out the answer.</p><p>Phil felt a smile creep up on his face, just a little. Monday had been a weird day with Dan at the assembly and proudly announcing his sexuality to all of the students. Phil had kept tabs on the calls that had been placed to the school yesterday from parents. There hadn’t been as many as he feared but some were still worried that their kid was to be taught by a gay man.</p><p>Oh, the irony Phil thought as he knew almost all of those parents had sat at parent-teacher conferences and praised Phil for how well he was engaging their child. Someone being queer did not make them any worse of a teacher.</p><p>Phil sat on top of his desk and clasped his hands in front of him.</p><p>“It means boys liking boys and girls liking girls. That someone is homosexual. The first part of that word, the homo, comes from Greek and means “same”, so you like someone who is the same as yourself.”</p><p>There were whispers among the classmates. Phil let the kids talk for a moment before he continued.</p><p>“Do you want to know something fun about the word too?” Phil asked, leaning his hands forward on his elbows.</p><p>“Yes!” Quinn said loudly.</p><p>She was always loud. Phil smiled at it, her clear enthusiasm now instead of her interest in just making noise. He was glad all the work she’d put in before the summer was still there. He couldn’t fathom how the other teachers called her a troublemaker just for being a little loud.</p><p>But then again, Phil had lived with a man who liked to be loud for a while now. He found it endearing.</p><p>“Gay as a word also used to mean happy, or light-hearted. It is not used like that so much anymore but I like to think that’s why the word started to mean homosexuals. Because it’s something good and nice and something to be happy about,” Phil said.</p><p>He wondered if any of the kids would carry his words back to their parents. Mr Lester says that being gay is something happy. He might get a few angry phone calls himself for that but he didn’t care.</p><p>Alex raised one hand and pushed her glasses higher up on her tiny nose with the other.</p><p>“Yes?” Phil said nodding towards her.</p><p>It wasn’t often that Alex spoke up at all but it was always interesting when she did. She had an incredible memory and more than once, Phil had thought that she would be much better at running this word description segment because she seemed to be legitimately reading through dictionary and just absorbing words like a sponge.</p><p>“On Monday, Mr Howell said that gay could also be used as a word to describe other sexualities that aren’t heterosexual. What did he mean?”</p><p>Alex had a piercing gaze when she was hungry for knowledge. It was a little intimidating to be honest but Phil took to the challenge of trying to give her a satisfying answer all the same.</p><p>“Well, he meant that a lot of people use gay as an umbrella term,” Phil said and Alex instantly started scribbling. Jieun who was sat to her right, even looked up from where she had been drawing in her sketchbook. “It means that people use it to mean a lot of different things. For example, someone who is bisexual might call themselves gay too, even if bisexuality more specifically means liking one or more genders, from the bi meaning two. And if someone doesn’t feel like the fit into the gender they were given at birth, then they might also use gay about themselves.”</p><p>There was a lot of confused looks and a lot of whispering to one another or sharing glances. The trio near the front of the classroom, Phil’s favourites, were the only ones who didn’t speak or look around. Jieun had started drawing an umbrella with a rainbow of colours seemingly raining down inside of it. Quinn was spinning her pen around in her hand again and again, for once silent which meant she was lost deep in thought. Alex looked straight at Phil, eyes squinting just a little and Phil felt very much like an equation she was staring into submission like he had heard she did in math.</p><p>“Elaborate,” she requested, and there was a bit of vulnerability in her voice. He had never heard her sound like that before.</p><p>Something felt like it dawned on Phil, not anything he would ever voice out loud, because if wasn’t his place but he wondered. He wondered if this was going to be the first introduction to everything queer for a queer person.</p><p>They had been supposed to talk about grammar but this was frankly important. Phil pulled a knee up to his chest, foot resting on the edge of the desk, even if he had been asked to stop doing that. He elaborated as best he could, keeping it all simple for the kids who were all between 10 and 11 years old, but he also didn’t dumb it down and act as they were stupid.</p><p>If he had learned anything in his year of working her and all his practice stays while he was getting his degree, it was that children were extremely smart even if they didn’t think or understand things the way adults did.</p><p>*~*~*</p><p>By Friday on Dan’s first week, he was knackered both physically and emotionally. It surely was something to read about kids or going in to teach a couple of test classes to full on being a teacher for a whole room of rowdy children.</p><p>Some of them had looked at Dan a little sceptically, like they didn’t know what to make of him. He wasn’t sure if that was because he was new or if it was because they might have been warned by their parents to say away from the gay man. He hoped it was just the former but he didn’t hold any of it against them.</p><p>Phil always said that children were often a product of their environment. It meant that their homelife had a huge sway over how they acted, but it also meant that school was another environment that could help them, in particular if they were being taught the wrong thing at home or they needed help.</p><p>Phil really was too gentle a soul and Dan loved him very much.</p><p>As Dan had promised, he had tried to look out for Phil’s favourite students every time a class that he knew Phil also had come in for his drama classes. He did know that it was a trio of kids that always seemed to be stuck together because Phil had shared anecdotes about all of his students but those three seemed to pop up again and again.</p><p>He hadn’t seen anyone he thought would be the right kids so far and he had wondered if he could have missed them, but then Friday came and three kids strolled into the room, arms literally linked together.</p><p>And there they were. Dan was sure of it. The tallest of the girls who was speaking loudly and talking with her hands, the smallest one clutching onto a sketch book and looking like she was itching to get it out, and the last one nodded and hummed at the first girl’s stories while her eyes constantly darted around the room.</p><p>When they did the name game that Dan had planned, he got their names as well. Quinn, Alex and Jieun.</p><p>“Okay, I will try to remember all of your names,” Dan said, smiling even though he was tired after a long week. He felt like he had already forgotten half the kids’ names already but the name game was more about getting them engaged anyway. “Today is the first day of class, so we’re just going to fool around and have fun. Let’s take a break and then do a little improv. Okay?”</p><p>The kids nodded and then conversations started up again. Dan sat leaned against the wall, flipping through the name list he had printed beforehand and trying to properly memorise all of the names. This wasn’t something he had considered when he had chosen to be a teacher but getting so many new names at once was a lot. They weren’t required to remember them, of course, but Dan wanted to. It meant something.</p><p>“Mr Howell?”</p><p>Dan looked up from his list to see someone had approached him. That name came easy. Quinn. It was hard to miss her, with her loud voice and the bright red shirt and cyan overalls that she was wearing. She might be a relatively little girl, but as she stood opposite him, hands on her hips, Dan got the feeling that she wasn’t someone to be messed with.</p><p>“Yes, Quinn?”</p><p>She didn’t look impressed that he knew her name.</p><p>“Can I talk to you outside?”</p><p>It left Dan confused but he nodded all the same. The rest of the class could mind themselves for a couple of minutes. It wasn’t like there was much havoc they could wreak inside of the drama room unless they decided to dig out the props.</p><p>“Are you okay?” Dan asked, as soon as the door shut behind them.</p><p>She crossed her arms and squared her jaw a little. “Oh I’m all good. Drama is like my favourite subject. No, actually that would be English now. Ha. I wouldn’t have said that a year ago. Man, I hated English then, you know? But then we got this new teacher and he’s just the bomb. Mr Lester, I’m sure you know. But I do love drama because it gives me an excuse to be loud and dramatic without being scolded for it and I-”</p><p>“Quinn,” Dan said gently, cutting off her word vomit. She seemed like she could just keep going. And he almost wanted to let her, in particular when he heard her talk about Phil. He would have to pass her words along; Phil would be over the moon. “I’m really happy that you’re excited. But you seemed like something concerned you?”</p><p>“Oh, right! Of course, sorry. Just. Brain, you know? Runs too fast sometimes. Yeah, I… I’m not here for me. I can do anything; I’m not scared of making a fool of myself. Hell, I joke that I was a clown in a past life and-” she cut herself off this time, just because Dan scrunched his eyebrows together. “Right. Rambling. Ehm… it’s about my friend, Alex. She doesn’t like drama very much, and improv legitimately frightens her. So… can she sit that out? Like, you can make up extra exercises for her or something. She’s literally the smartest person I know and she’s capable of doing anything at all, but being in front of people? Having them all look at her? It’s a no-go.”</p><p>“Okay,” Dan said, and tried to think. He had never intended to force participation anyway and he was thankful for the heads up. She could just join in with the group exercises, maybe if she was with her friends, it would be fine.</p><p>Quinn seemed to take his silence for something other than it was, which was just a moment to think.</p><p>“Listen,” Quinn said and Dan had never heard a ten-year-old sound so angry. “Mrs Cornell made her really upset. If you make her upset, I’ll kick your ass. And you can send me to the principal for saying that but I don’t care. If you make her cry, I will be a menace in all of your classes.”</p><p>Dan was legitimately stunned into silence and then a beat later he felt such a protective flare in his chest. Of this girl and her friend. This was a prime example of friendship, the kind of friendship that Dan had never had with anyone growing but but what he had longed so desperately for.</p><p>“I’m not going to make her or anyone do anything they don’t want to do,” Dan assured Quinn. “Do you think she’d be fine doing it in a smaller group? And she can sit out the big group things and I’ll find something for her to do an learn.”</p><p>“Oh,” Quinn said and let her crossed arms fall down. “Wait, really? Mrs Cornell got so mad when I told her all of this. She said it was <em>mandatory </em>or something stupid like that.”</p><p>Dan cracked a smile. “I’m here to teach her about drama. I’d love to help her get comfortable performing too, but I’d never throw anyone into the deep end when they don’t know how to swim.”</p><p>Quinn gave him a once over, and Dan felt like he was being scrutinised. But then a big smile blossomed on her face and Dan felt almost taken aback but the quick change.</p><p>“Good, then we’re going to get on,” Quinn said happily. “Oh, and don’t make Jieun put her sketchbook away. She likes having it with her and I promise you that she’s listening even when she’s doodling. It’s how she listens best.”</p><p>Dan could see why Quinn was one of Phil’s favourites if he had gotten a similar speech about respecting her quieter friends.</p><p>“Okay, thank you for telling me. As long as she pays attention, she can keep it.”</p><p>Quinn nodded. “You know, Mr Howell, you’re not half bad,” she said and then patted his arm and strolled back into the class room.</p><p>Dan smiled and shook his head. Oh, he was going to have a handful with this class, he was sure.</p><p>*~*~*</p><p>“So, how was your first week?” Phil asked when they were snuggled up in bed on a Saturday morning. Dan had fallen asleep almost immediately after returning home yesterday.</p><p>It had been the easiest choice in the world to sleep in and cuddle late into the morning. It might already be noon, but none of the boys cared. Going back to school was both exciting and exhausting for kids and teachers alike.</p><p>“So good,” Dan said and buried his face properly in Phil’s shoulder.</p><p>They were entangled, skin touching skin, and a bundle of warmth. None of them wanted to leave their little cocoon. This was too nice.</p><p>“Yeah?” Phil asked, hands finding Dan’s curls just to run his hands through them.</p><p>“Oh, and I met your favourites,” Dan said and lifted his head to look at Phil. “Quinn gave me a big warning not to make Alex cry or take away Jieun’s sketchbook.”</p><p>Phil chuckled. “I can see that. She’s fierce. I wish I’d had her confidence at that age.”</p><p>“I was a little intimidated to be honest,” Dan admitted. “But not in a bad way, and I just… that’s what friendship is, you know? I… I never had that. I didn’t have a best friend until I met you at eighteen.”</p><p>“Dan,” Phil said and his voice sounded a little strained, a little wet all of a sudden.</p><p>“Well, it’s true,” Dan said, feeling the emotions creep up on him too. “And don’t get me wrong, Phil, you are the <em>best thing</em> to have ever happened to me. I love you so, so much but there’s something about kid friendships.”</p><p>“I know what you mean,” Phil said and he got that distant tone, deep in thought. “It’s precious and pure. And those three? A force to be reckoned with. Quinn is the one you’ll get to know first, because she’s out there and not afraid to step up. Alex is much, much quieter but she’s whip-smart and she sees and hears everything. I mean, <em>everything</em>. Jieun seems like she’s off in her own little world but she just thinks differently, sees the world differently.”</p><p>“Sounds like someone I know,” Dan said and poked Phil in the ribs.</p><p>“Well, it’s a compliment but I don’t think I can compare in artistic ability. You know that painting that’s hung in the teacher’s lounge above the sofa?”</p><p>Dan nodded. It was a relatively small canvas but a beautiful painting. A landscape, perspective from a hill, and a lush forest unfolding underneath. A rainbow through the sky. Dan had instantly liked it.</p><p>“It was painted by Jieun. She gave me it on the last day of school.”</p><p>“Wait, why didn’t you bring that home? It would have suited the flat so well!” Dan complained.</p><p>Phil laughed. “I will, sometimes, but for now, I wanted to hang it where the other teachers could see it. A reminder for when they tell her off for not paying attention to them and only her sketchbook.”</p><p>“You’re a big softie.”</p><p>“So are you,” Phil countered and poked Dan in his stomach, and then his cheeks. “My squishy Dan. The best squish.”</p><p>Phil moved Dan until he was lying on his back and then nuzzled into his collarbones. He breathed in deep, sleepily taking in the warm and familiar scent.</p><p>“Let’s nap.”</p><p>“We haven’t even gotten out of bed yet.”</p><p>“Exactly, perfect time for a nap. We’re already in the perfect position.”</p><p>Someone’s stomach grumbled but neither of them made a move to get up. Falling back into sleep when you had your arms around the love of your life was quite an easy feat, hunger be damned.</p><p> *~*~*</p><p>The first month of school always passed too fast for most people. It was the opposite for Alex, who had usually been unable to resist the urge the read at least a little ahead. It wasn’t her fault. Summer holidays were long and boring and Quinn and Jieun had both been away for some of the summer.</p><p>Books had been a companion since she was just a little one.</p><p>And now, it seemed like everything passed even slower than normal. She hadn’t been able to get Mr Lester’s words out of her head from the first week. They had spent a whole half our talking about being gay and sexualities. Objectively, perhaps a waste of time when they had to do their scheduled topic but Alex had for once not even thought about calling a teacher out for wasting time.</p><p>Even if she would already have been slower to do it to Mr Lester because he had favourite points and therefore she had a higher tolerance for him.</p><p>But in the last month, it meant she had been researching everything she could about other sexualities and gender identities. The LGBTQ+ community. So many letters. She made sure to wipe the iPad’s memory after each use.</p><p>“Hey Alex,” Mr Lester called after class had been dismissed. “Stay behind for a moment?”</p><p>It wasn’t anything new. Mr Lester tended to do this once in a while just to check in with her and make sure that she was all good. At first, she had thought it was to check that she had actually been paying attention and she had treated each talk like a test.</p><p>It didn’t quite feel like that anymore.</p><p>Jieun and Quinn stopped on either side of her. Jieun’s hands tight around her sketchbook and Quinn already crossing her arms and evaluating. Alex really did appreciate how they were always so quick to have her back, but she was fairly sure that she didn’t need it with Mr Lester.</p><p>“I’m okay,” she whispered to them with a small smile.</p><p>“If she’s not, remember I know where you live, Mr Lester!” Quinn called out before looping an arm around Jieun and dragging her outside. The threat was playful through, and Mr Lester was the only one Quinn was this playful around. It was the only one who wouldn’t put her into trouble.</p><p>Not that she shied away from trouble. Alex had quite never figured out how someone could go into the world with so much attitude and confidence. She was very glad Quinn was her friend. </p><p>“That’s not true,” Mr Lester said.</p><p>“I could have Alex find out!” Quinn said, throwing a wink over her shoulder.</p><p>It made Alex laugh.</p><p>Mr Lester looked over at her. “You probably could, couldn’t you?”</p><p>“I could,” Alex said. Addresses for most part was easy to find on the internet, and even if Phil’s home wasn’t listed, then it would be in the school’s records. It was easy to find if you were a little clever. “But I won’t. You’re the best teacher.”</p><p>Mr Lester got all shy when he got complimented. Alex liked it.</p><p>“I just wanted to have you stay to tell you that I’ve noticed you raising your hand more in class and I’m really proud of you for that. I see you trying and you’re doing so well. You’re teaching all your fellow classmates something too.”</p><p>Now it was Alex’s turn to be a little embarrassed.</p><p>“But I think, and correct me if I’m wrong, but you’ve been a little distracted. Is there anything I can help you with?”</p><p>Alex had thought that she had been so good at hiding that something else preoccupied her mind and frankly she wasn’t sure how Mr Lester had noticed. He was a very good teacher but he shouldn’t have been perceptive enough to see through her. She had even made sure to speak up more in classes not to call attention to her absentmindedness.</p><p>It had gotten easier each time she raised her hand, just like Mr Lester had told her when she first joined.</p><p>“How did you know?”</p><p>“Mr Howell told me,” Mr Lester said and it wasn’t what Alex had expected.</p><p>She was reminded of the first day of school and how the two of them had shared a look. Her, Quinn and Alex had talked about them on and off throughout the month. It was inevitable. Mr Lester had been their favourite but Mr Howell had become a new favourite too. He hadn’t pushed Mr Lester off his spot but rather it was like he had joined him there.</p><p>“Talk to him often?” Alex asked.</p><p>“Yes,” Mr Lester said. A truth, Alex observed. “I know what it’s like to be the new teacher around here and I’ve been helping him settle in.”</p><p>Something about that description seemed a little lacklustre. Lacklustre, Alex thought to herself, lacking in force or conviction.</p><p>“How did he see anything with me? He doesn’t even know me,” she said defensively.</p><p>Mr Lester sat down on top of his desk like he always did for conversation time.</p><p>“He’s… He is very observant, not unlike yourself. And no, he didn’t notice because he thinks you’ve been doing poorly. The opposite in fact. He praised you for trying so hard with something that comes difficult to you. We’re just here to help.”</p><p>“Not all teachers understand,” Alex said but the urge was suddenly overwhelming to talk to someone.</p><p>She couldn’t talk to her parents. They wouldn’t like it. She thought about all that she had read about gender and how too much of it had made it feel like something clicked. She had always been labelled as a tomboy, shying away from dresses and playing house. It made sense. But then she got angry. Red hot in a way that she’s seen in Quinn often when she watched something, she seemed unfair but not felt herself so much.</p><p>It was so clear that gender was nothing. Something that society had just decided. It came with stereotypes and all sorts of bad stuff. She didn’t want to be a girl if she had to be how society had decided. She didn’t want to be a boy either. Neither label seemed to fit. She didn’t want a damn label.</p><p>“I can’t speak for anyone other than myself, and probably Mr Howell, but you can talk to us. We will never judge you; we will never break your confidence unless we’re worried someone is about to get hurt.”</p><p>“I’m hurt,” Alex said. “It hurts to think about all of this.”</p><p>“All of what?” Mr Lester asked, gentle and coaxing.</p><p>Alex hadn’t even dared to tell Quinn and Jieun yet.</p><p>“I… after that first class where you talked about being gay?”</p><p>“Yes,” Mr Lester said and he was right that Alex was observant. She saw something shift in his eyes. They turned a little softer, and he looked like he understood. Alex hadn’t even said anything but Mr Lester looked like he got it.</p><p>“I… I’ve done research. Looked things up. About sexuality but also… gender identity. It’s… gender is stupid, isn’t it?”</p><p>Mr Lester hummed. “It is a social construct.”</p><p>“Social construct, an idea that has been created and accepted by people in a society,” Alex said. It was one she had encountered in this last month of figuring out things.</p><p>“Exactly,” Mr Lester said and he looked so proud. Mr Lester always looked so proud when she did well. It was the man thing that was helping her speak up more, she wasn’t even sure if he knew that. “In that sense, it can get a little silly, you know? People decided on all of these things. Often a long time ago and it just sticks. In reality, gender can be fluid. You know, I have a friend who was born and called a girl at birth but he was really a boy all the time.”</p><p>Alex wrinkled her nose and adjusted her glasses. It was a lot to take in.</p><p>“But he… had ladyparts?”</p><p>Mr Lester nodded. “But your gender is all up to you. It can be anything you want it to be. It can be how you present yourself, or what pronouns to use. All of that and more. Gender can be important or it can be silly. I… I also know someone else who jokes that he’s a formless blob. He doesn’t want any labels from society at all.”</p><p>“Hmm,” Alex said.</p><p>“Is all of this too much?” Mr Lester asked.</p><p>She shook her head. “But… if <em>I </em>wanted to be… like none of it, not a boy, not a girl. Just me. A formless blob. Could… could I be that?”</p><p>Mr Lester nodded very seriously. “Yes, of course.”</p><p>“That would make me gay, right? Or queer?”</p><p>“It could, if you want it to. There are a lot of definition for people who feel like they don’t fit into a set gender. Nonbinary. Genderfluid. Many more.”</p><p>Alex pulled out her phone and started making a note of the words.</p><p>“And that’s okay?” Alex asked, looking down at the words. She wrote formless blob underneath it too. It looked quite neat and it sounded fun.</p><p>“Of course, it’s okay. It’s just like how Mr Howell being gay is okay, you know? And…” Mr Lester said and then hesitated. “Can I tell you a secret?”</p><p>Alex considered for a moment. “Can I tell Quinn and Jieun?”</p><p>Mr Lester smiled in a way that was hard to decipher. “Okay then, but only those two. Pinky promise?”</p><p>Pinky promise was a sacred bond, Alex linked her finger with Mr Lester’s and squeezed.</p><p>“I am gay too, just like Mr Howell.”</p><p>Alex was most surprised that it didn’t feel all that surprising. In fact, it felt more like something clicked into place. That look of understanding made all the more sense now. Alex smiled wide.</p><p>“Do you like him?”</p><p>“Huh?”</p><p>“Mr Howell.”</p><p>“Err…”</p><p>“Is that a bad question?” Alex wondered. All of this was so new. Exciting but a little scary. But her heart was beating fast in the best way. Her favourite teachers were kind of like her, not exactly but close. It felt nice.</p><p>“No, it’s not. But you should assume two men who like men are together just because.”</p><p>“Oh, I didn’t. It’s because of how you look at each other. Every time I see you pass each other in the hallway, you do this little smile. Just for the two of you. But I’m sorry if I said a bad thing.”</p><p>Mr Lester looked a little confused.</p><p>“It’s not… I… No, it’s not bad,” Mr Lester said.</p><p>“Okay,” Alex said with a nod.</p><p>“Anything else?”</p><p>“Not for now, no.”</p><p>“Well, you know where you can find me if you need me,” Mr Lester said and Alex wondered why all teachers weren’t like him.</p><p>*~*~*</p><p>“I think I just came out to a student,” Phil hissed to Dan after he’d run away to the teacher’s lounge. He couldn’t have planned it better, both him and Dan being the only teachers in it at the moment.</p><p>“You what?” Dan asked, putting down his mug and stepping closer. His hands were on Phil’s shoulder and Phil’s cheek instantly, looking intensely and worried. None of them seemed to remember that they were at work.</p><p>“I… it’s… Alex just talked to me about gender identity and being confused and I just… I couldn’t help myself. She looked so lost. Wait, they looked so lost? I forgot to ask about pronouns. I… what. I think I blacked out in there. Dan, what if I said something wrong!”</p><p>“I’m sure you didn’t, Phil,” Dan said, hand warm and soft on Phil’s cheek but the one on his shoulder was holding firm. “You’re compassionate and kind. I’m sure you did well.”</p><p>“I… I just… I didn’t mean to do that. What… what if Alex tells everyone? It wouldn’t be the end of the world but just… not good. I did make a pinky promise with them but.”</p><p>“Well, kids take that kind of thing seriously,” Dan said and there was a hint of laughter in his voice.</p><p>“Dan, don’t laugh at me,” Phil whined, and grabbed Dan and tried to shake him.</p><p>“I’m sorry, but you’re just too cute. You’re wonderful, Phil.”</p><p>“Stop,” Phil complained.</p><p>“Never,” Dan said and leaned in really close. Phil was sure there was going to be a kiss coming but at the last second, they heard the click of the door and they sprung apart. It was the gym teacher and he gave them a weird look but then just went to fill his cup with coffee and left again.</p><p>“No kisses at school,” Phil reminded him.</p><p>“It’s torture, you know,” Dan said and then took his teasing voice one step further. “And it’s not like you didn’t just come out.”</p><p>“Stop teasing me!”</p><p>“Okay, okay. Are you actually upset and worried? That Alex will out you?”</p><p>Phil took a moment to consider it and feel in his chest. The same emotion that had embarked when he had suddenly wanted to come out to Alex still remained. It wasn’t fear or worry. He still felt like he had done the right thing in showing Alex that they weren’t all alone.</p><p>“I’m not. Alex will tell Quinn and Jieun but no one else.”</p><p>“Hmm, and Quinn and Jieun?”</p><p>“I don’t think they’ll say anything either.”</p><p>“Then you’re okay,” Dan reminded him and there was kindness and compassion in his voice now. Teasing tone was nowhere to be seen. Dan knew how terrifying it could be to come out to someone. Children were usually pretty good about it, much less guarded and weirded out than adults but it didn’t take away from it being slightly scary.</p><p>“I need a nap.”</p><p>“How about this, I’ll cook your favourite tonight and you can take a nap from the moment we get home until the food is ready,” Dan proposed.</p><p>“You’re the best,” Phil said and allowed himself to reach up and cup Dan’s cheek, thumb falling into the dimple that showed on his face as he smiled.</p><p>*~*~*</p><p>Jieun had been lost in her drawing, only vaguely registering that Alex made it back to them. She was playing around with shading a lot these days and she was fascinated how they could change the whole feel of a drawing. She could tell that Quinn and Alex were talking but it was just a nice background murmur to Jieun’s focused brain. They were sat in the corner of the courtyard, their designated spot where no one came to bother them during break time.</p><p>“So, you’re a formless blob and Mr Lester is gay like Mr Howell,” Quinn said, a little loudly, only to be hushed by Alex.</p><p>“What?” she asked when she heard that, pencil stilling on the page. “What is a formless blob?”</p><p>Alex looked a little embarrassed but Jieun saw how she took a deep breath and then spoke again. “It’s me. For now. I might call myself something else in the future, but for now. I like it. I… I don’t like being a girl. I don’t want to be it. But Mr Lester told me that it’s okay to be something between a boy and a girl.”</p><p>Jieun considered it for a moment and yeah, that made sense. She had always liked to mix up different clothing for her characters, finding it so damn boring that some clothes were supposed to be reserved for one of the either. Why limit yourself if you didn’t need to?</p><p>“That’s cool. Would you wear a suit now?” Jieun asked.</p><p>Alex let out a snort and then leaned over to give Jieun a hug. There was a kiss placed on her head too.</p><p>“She gets a kiss and I don’t?” Quinn pouted.</p><p>Alex rolled her eyes but leaned in to embrace Quinn too and press a kiss to her cheek.</p><p>“Satisfied?”</p><p>“What if I’m gay too? That felt nice. Would you kiss me for real?” Quinn asked, hands going to her cheek. “Wait, it means liking the same gender right. So, would it work for you? No then? Hmm. Or is gay only for boys liking boys. What about girls liking girls?”</p><p>“There’s something called a lesbian,” Alex said helpfully. “It’s for girls that like girls.”</p><p>“I thought that was normal though. How can you not like girls? They’re soft and smell nice,” Quinn said. “Who wouldn’t like girls? Like, we’re awesome.”</p><p>“Everyone can be awesome. Boys and girls,” Jieun said and then looked over at Alex. “Formless blobs. It’s all just people, right? Gender is a weird thing anyway.”</p><p>“Yes! Thank you,” Alex said happily.</p><p>“You’re welcome,” Jieun said, even if she didn’t quite get the excitement.</p><p>“Hmm, much to think about,” Quinn said to herself. “Wait, you also said that Mr Lester told you that he’s gay. Like Mr Howell. Or did he say he likes Mr Howell.”</p><p>“He didn’t say he liked Mr Howell. I asked him though.”</p><p>“Brilliant,” Quinn said. “What did he say?”</p><p>“He evaded the question but… I think he likes him. He got all flustered when I told him I’d seen how he and Mr Howell pass smiles in the hallway. Flustered, feeling embarrassed or nervous,” Alex said.</p><p>Jieun looked down at the drawing on her sketchbook and she hadn’t realised that she had flipped over the page and started drawing Mr Lester and Mr Howell again. It happened at least once a week where she wanted to draw them. Separately, and together. It was happening again. The vague outlines were holding hands this time too. That was new.</p><p>“Wait, it would be so cute if they could date, wouldn’t it?” Quinn said. “They’re both excellent teachers and they clearly already like each other. Isn’t that a match made in heaven! Oh, I know, there’s the sleepover at the school in November. I think both of them are signed up to watch us. We’ll get them together! It’s been decided.”</p><p>Alex seemed a little sceptical. “Mr Lester said that you shouldn’t assume two gays would go together just because of their sexuality.”</p><p>Quinn blew out a raspberry. Jieun hummed under her breath and just listened to them talk as her drawing started to take form. It was turning out well, something warm and safe blooming in her chest. She had never paid much attention to gender and sexuality. Why would she? They were kids. It wasn’t like it had mattered much. Jieun just ignored it when her parents talked about finding a nice boy to marry when she was older. It was so far away anyway.</p><p>She agreed with Quinn though. Girls were nice and pretty and it was baffling that anyone would exclusively pick boys over them.</p><p>“It’s not because of that,” Quinn argued. “It’s because they would look good next to each other. Because they are good and kind men and they should get to find someone like that. And because they would look really good together. See, Jieun can’t stop drawing them.”</p><p>Jieun might be lost in how her hand worked across the page but she was sharply attuned to Quinn’s voice in particular. On reflex, she turned the drawing towards her two friends. It was far from a finished drawing yet, mostly just scribbles and outlines but it was enough to be able to discern that it was their two teacher’s holding hands.</p><p>Jieun had practice speed-drawing, having just a couple of minutes to capture someone’s likeness. It was a nice exercise to pass time on the bus.</p><p>“Okay, maybe they would look cute together.”</p><p>“Great! Let’s initiate plan, Lester-Howell.”</p><p>“It needs a better name than that,” Alex argued.</p><p>“Soulmates,” Jieun said. “They feel like soulmates. In that old definition, you know? Humans were too powerful and the Greek gods or whoever spilt them up into two and condemned them to walk the earth searching for their other half.”</p><p>When she looked up, both Quinn and Alex were looking at her. She didn’t hesitate to swing her sketchbook at Quinn who was closest.</p><p>“Ouch, what did you do that for?” Quinn complained and rubbed her arm.</p><p>“I can pay attention when I want, or when it’s exciting stuff.”</p><p>“Of course, we know that,” Alex said. “It wasn’t that. It’s the topic. Soulmates. Quite romantic.”</p><p>“Well, maybe I’m the most romantic out of all of us,” Jieun argued, snickering.</p><p>Quinn wouldn’t hear of that.</p><p>“Oh, I’ll show you romance. I can be so romantic! Both of you, you will be romanced and eat your words. And then we’re going to make Mr Lester and Mr Howell romance each other too. Everyone just wait! I will out-romance you all!” Quinn exclaimed and jumped up onto the table in one smooth movement.</p><p>Jieun and Alex both burst into laughter.</p><p>*~*~*</p><p>It was a confusing couple of weeks for Dan and Phil. Random chocolate and flowers started showing up in their respective classrooms, all labelled from “a secret admirer”. None of them had sent each other anything else.</p><p>“Do you think there’s legitimately two someone crushing on us at the same time?” Dan asked, when another beautiful flower had turned up on his desk.</p><p>“I don’t think so, I have begun developing a theory though. You know how Quinn have been even more over the top lately? Like she had always been loud and appreciative and protective of her friends but I swear it’s even louder now. And one day both Jieun and Alex turned up with flowers in their hair and it was the same kind of flower that showed up in the drama room that day.”</p><p>Dan stopped his pacing. He hadn’t even noticed that he had begun it.</p><p>“You don’t think…?”</p><p>“I’m not sure what, I think,” Phil said with a shrug. “But they are up to something and they are too clever for their own good.”</p><p>“It almost seems like match-making then,” Dan said and then his eyes went wide. “Phil, what if they are trying to get <em>us</em> together? They know we’re both gay now.”</p><p>“I told Alex not to make assumptions like that.”</p><p>“Sure, but they’re still children. It’s a natural leap.”</p><p>“Actually, it’s a little more than that,” Phil said and he realised he had never told Dan about how Alex had said that they fit so well together or the smiles in hallways that they had both been sure that no one had seen.</p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p>“Alex had picked up on us being friendly, smiling at each other when we thought no one were looking. All that. So it might be more than about our sexualities. They might just think we’re cute together.”</p><p>“Wait, if that’s true then that’s precious. Phil!”</p><p>“I know,” Phil said and smiled.</p><p>“Well, if they’re messing with us, why don’t we mess with them?” Dan asked and he had his mischievous grin on. Phil was entirely too weak for that smile. It had gotten them into trouble before but it had always been fun trouble.</p><p>“What did you have in mind?” Phil asked.</p><p>“We give them more of what they want obviously,” Dan said, wiggling his eyebrows.</p><p>Dan was lucky that he was so cute and Phil was absolutely in love.</p><p>*~*~*</p><p>And boy, did it serve to confused the girls.</p><p>It started with Mr Lester randomly coming into put lip balm on Dan while the class was on break, saying something about Dan’s lips being too chapped.</p><p>It evolved to Mr Howell asking if he could have the drawing that Jieun was working on, even if it was pretty clear that it was of him and Mr Lester.</p><p>On Halloween, Mr Howell and Mr Lester dressed up in matching outfits, even if it was just cat ears and whiskers drawn on cheeks and a black spot on the nose.</p><p>The trio eventually stopped with the random secretly admiring gifts, even if Quinn still insisted to bring gifts and do nice things for Jieun and Alex. She said that she was just having so much fun with it and it became a thing that got incorporated into their friendship.</p><p>Quinn, Alex and Jieun watched in wonder as the secret admirer gifts somehow continued after they had stopped orchestrating them. Once Quinn had almost been so baffled that she had given their whole play away and revealed that they were the ones that had started with it, but Jieun had been quick to shut her up, pinching into her thigh so she only let out a real squeal instead of a metaphorical one.</p><p>It was a bit bizarre though, even if the trio eventually figured that they must have started giving each other real secret admirer gifts. After that realisation settled in, they felt quite accomplished.</p><p>*~*~*</p><p>Jieun was angry. She was fuming but unable to express it. It was made worse by both Quinn and Alex being outside of school for the day. It happened very rarely but when it did, those were already the worst days.</p><p>The fact that stupid Mr Conan had taken her sketchbook was just icing on the cake. If Quinn had been in, she wouldn’t have let that happen. She would have wrestled the sketchbook away if that was what had been needed and then happily gone to the principal to explain herself. She couldn’t do that, out with a very snotty nose and being ordered to stay home by her parents. She had given in, only because she wanted to make sure that she was well for the sleepover at the school where she had plans for Mr Lester and Mr Howell. Alex was out too, even if only for half the day because of a dentist appointment that always made them feel a little anxious and on edge.</p><p>It had been a new thing to think of Alex as them but Jieun’s brain had made the switch quite easily. If Alex was a formless blob, they could pick any and all pronoun they wanted. Jieun had promptly searched up all the potential pronouns one could have and written them into a big collage-like art piece. Alex had nearly cried which had made Jieun nearly cry in return.</p><p>For now, it was only herself and Quinn that knew about the new pronouns but Alex had commented that they had noticed that both Mr Lester and Mr Howell never referred to them in any gender specific way anymore.</p><p>Teachers like that were nice. Mr Conan was not.</p><p>Jieun’s hands felt empty without her sketchbook. It was a clutch; a safety blanket and she had been paying attention in math. As much as she could. It was just hard when Alex wasn’t next to her and able to say it much simpler ways. She could understand math like that.</p><p>“Oh, there you are.”</p><p>Jieun looked up from where she was digging her hands into her palms, only to see Mr Howell come walking up to the bench with her missing sketchbook in hand. She didn’t even think. She just acted reaching out and grabbing hold of it firmly and pressing it against her chest as if Mr Howell would take it away from her. It was illogical. He was the one who had handed it over.</p><p>Jieun sniffled a little. The cold was biting out here, but this was their corner, even if they didn’t use it much in the cold part of the year. She had needed comfort and gone to a place that would give her it.</p><p>“How?” she asked, looking up, hands still locked securely around the sketchbook.</p><p>“I saw Mr Conan with it in the teacher’s lounge,” Mr Howell said. He had a kind smile, one prominent dimple on one side and a little patch of skin that went rosy in the cold. Jieun took in the details and the look in his eyes and she flipped open the sketchbook and started drawing.</p><p>She wondered if he would scold her. Sometimes, people didn’t like being drawn. He didn’t say anything for a while, but he leaned a little closer, glancing on her page.</p><p>“Make me look good, would you?” he asked.</p><p>She looked up just enough that she saw the gentle smile on his face remained.</p><p>“Why did you help? Teachers can take things from students,” Jieun recalled. Alex could cite the school regulations. They had memorised them and used that knowledge to help all of them when they got into trouble. Mostly when Quinn got into trouble.</p><p>“They are, but you are always sketching and paying attention all the same. It’s not a disturbance for you. It’s a tool.”</p><p>“Mr Conan didn’t think so,” Jieun said bitterly.</p><p>“He is wrong then.”</p><p>“He’s wrong about a lot of things,” Jieun said.</p><p>“Oh?”</p><p>“He is the only one who insists on calling Alex by her full give name. Alejandra. Alex doesn’t like it. They said that they never liked it but they didn’t know how to tell teachers to stop calling them that. Alex, Quinn and I all started in the same years. Transfers,” Jieun said, hand working over the page. Talking was easier like this. She was imaging Mr Howell’s expression as he listened. “Alex first, then me, then Quinn. Quinn had only been here for a week when she suddenly started announcing something at the beginning of every single class. She told them to stop calling Alex Alejandra and not force them to answer questions when they didn’t raise their hand. She told them to stop thinking that I was stupid just because I looked like I wasn’t paying attention and she told them to stop trying to take my sketchbooks away.”</p><p>“Sounds like a good friend,” Mr Howell said.</p><p>“The best. Her and Alex are the best. I would be lost without them. Quinn likes to take care of us, but we take care of her too. Everyone needs someone to take care of them and someone to care for. Do you have someone like that, Mr Howell?” Jieun asked, looking up. There was an interesting expression on Mr Howell’s face. He looked like he was thinking about something that happened long ago.</p><p>“I do,” Mr Howell said. “I only have one someone like that but he’s the best thing to ever happen to me.”</p><p>“How long have you known him?”</p><p>“Since I was eighteen. He’s my very best friend in the whole wide world.”</p><p>Jieun wrinkled her nose. “Eighteen? That’s old.”</p><p>Mr Howell laughed. A proper laugh. It was a nice sound. Teachers usually acted like they were too high and mighty to properly laugh.</p><p>“Eighteen is not old.”</p><p>“It is. It’s almost twice my age,” Jieun argued. She hoped that math was right. If Alex were here, they would have given an encouraging nod or gently told her the real answer.</p><p>“Okay, I suppose that’s fair. You must think me old too, in my mid-20s.”</p><p>“You are old, but not compared to the other teachers. You and Mr Lester are the youngest ones here. Maybe that’s why you’re the nicest.”</p><p>Jieun was lost in the drawing so she didn’t really notice the hesitation from Mr Howell. Mr Howell on the page was coming alive nicely. He looked like a kind man. It was fitting considering the inspiration was the whole reason Jieun had the sketchbook right now.</p><p>“You think Phil and I are the nicest teachers?”</p><p>“Phil? Oh, Mr Lester, you mean. Yeah. We all agree,” Jieun said. Alex would sometimes get embarrassed that she just spoke her mind, Quinn would just laugh and cheer her on. Jieun just didn’t see why one needed to be so secretive. “Me, Alex and Quinn. You’re the best.”</p><p>“I’m very glad to hear that,” Mr Howell said.</p><p>“Can’t you stay for longer? Christmas is soon already. We will miss you,” Jieun said and she looked up from her page to see that Mr Howell looked like he was tearing up. “Are you crying? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you cry. Did you not hear me? I said we really like you and want you to stay.”</p><p>“I heard you,” Mr Howell said but there was a tear running down his cheek.</p><p>“Why are you crying then?”</p><p>“Do you know how people cry when they’re happy? These are happy tears, I promise. I’m glad you like my classes.”</p><p>“Oh, it’s all good then,” Jieun said and put the final brush of the pen across her page. She didn’t like to tear out pages from her sketchbook but something made her do it this time. She held the drawing out for Mr Howell. “For you,” she said and then jumped down from the bench and ran inside.</p><p>*~*~*</p><p>Saturday mornings had turned into cuddles and lie-ins without either Phil or Dan deciding to make that the rule. They were happy just lazing around together, lost in their lovely domesticity.</p><p>“I’ve only got over a month left,” Dan said. “December has snuck up on me.”</p><p>“I know, it does every single year,” Phil said. “I can’t believe you only have half a year left. You’re so much better than Mrs Cornell, no offence to her.”</p><p>Phil noticed a warm smile blossoming on Dan’s face.</p><p>“Jieun told me this week that you and I were her and her friends’ favourites. She just said it. Like a statement, like it was no big deal, while I was trying to keep my heart from melting.”</p><p>Phil could feel it now, his own heart turning warmer and softer at the mention.</p><p>“She really said that? I mean out of all of them, I’m not surprised it was her. She doesn’t really believe in having a filter, I’m sure she would be even more forthright if she wouldn’t rather be drawing than talking.”</p><p>“She asked me if I could stay in the new year too,” Dan said. “It made me almost want to, you know?”</p><p>“Dan,” Phil said, gently but chastising. “It has literally only been a week since you got offered a permanent employment on another school. In London, I might add. I’ve been making plans for moving out there together. Are you changing your mind?”</p><p>“No,” Dan said but he looked a little sad. “The move will be good for both of us. You talked to your principal too, didn’t you?”</p><p>“Yes, I’ll stay for the rest of the school year and then there’ll be a spot for me at their sister school in London.”</p><p>“At least you get to finished out with those kids. They’re onto secondary school next year anyway.”</p><p>“I’ll miss them still. I’ll miss all my students but those in particular.”</p><p>“Me too.”</p><p>“I’ll miss the free chocolate as secret admirer gifts.”</p><p>“Speaking of chocolate, how is the stash doing?”</p><p>“We’re almost through it, I think,” Phil replied.</p><p>Dan hummed and then rolled around and reluctantly got out of bed. He returned with the rest of their box of gift chocolate and picked out a piece to munch on.</p><p>“I’ll miss the chocolate a lot, I think,” Dan said.</p><p>Phil knew he wasn’t actually talking about the chocolate this time.</p><p>“I’ll not let the chocolate forget about you, and you can come visit. At least once before we see them graduate to the next level.”</p><p>Dan seemed satisfied with that. He plopped another chocolate in his mouth.</p><p>It was hard to think about leaving the school behind. Phil had only been there for a little over a year and it was a good place but they needed somewhere away from where they had met and grown into proper adults. London seemed like a good place to start. End of one era just for another one to begin.</p><p>*~*~*</p><p>“Okay, so this is the plan,” Quinn said and rubbed her hands together. “We get them to play truth or dare with us.”</p><p>“And how are you going to do that?” Alex asked.</p><p>“You could just ask,” Jieun said, not looking up from her page.</p><p>It was the school sleepover. All the kids were allowed to stay overnight, a full 24 hours of being at school property. A day filled with classes and activities and then an evening and night with fun times and games. It was only for Year 6, as the oldest level in this school, and everyone always tried to stay awake the whole night even if they had all been forced to bring sleeping bags.</p><p>“I will make it happen,” Quinn said confidently and she didn’t doubt herself. She had found that doubt didn’t help things along, it only stopped them in their tracks. So, obviously she had decided to toss that out of the window whenever she encountered it.</p><p>She saw every situation as a challenge and an opportunity and so far she hadn’t meet anything she couldn’t conquer. She was still quite proud that Mr Lester and Mr Howell had started sending gifts of their own back and forth, or so she had to presume, but she almost wished that they would ask her for advice.</p><p>Objectively, her gifts had been better. Those boys would need all the help they could get.</p><p>It was surprisingly easy to get both Mr Lester and Mr Howell into a game of truth and dare. She had sent Alex to go fetch Mr Lester and Jieun to fetch Mr Howell and then she had just found an empty classroom and waited.</p><p>She already knew how they would handle the task. Alex wouldn’t explain, other than they needed help and Mr Lester would come easily. Jieun would just straight up invite Mr Howell for truth and dare and he would go along with it because he was a good sport and he always talked about the “yes… and” thing in his classes. He’d play along and Mr Lester would too once he was in the room.</p><p>It happened just like she had predicted.</p><p>“Wait, what is going on?” Mr Lester asked.</p><p>“Truth or dare,” Quinn said. “We’re playing. All five of us.”</p><p>“There shouldn’t be two teachers here, someone has to watch-”</p><p>“A couple of rounds, Phil,” Mr Howell said, so casually and flashed Mr Lester a smile.</p><p>First name basis. Not that weird since it was a school policy that students had to address the teachers’ formally but there was still something in Mr Howell’s tone that even Quinn managed to pick up on and she was not the most perceptive of them.</p><p>“Perfect!” Quinn said. “Now sit down.”</p><p>The five of them sat in a circle on the floor. Mr Lester and Mr Howell had sat down next to each other.</p><p>“We’re starting with you, Mr Howell.”</p><p>“Dare,” he said without any hesitation.</p><p>Quinn had kind of figured.</p><p>“I dare you to hold Mr Lester’s hand for the whole time that we’re playing,” she said.</p><p>Mr Lester and Mr Howell looked at each other and then Mr Howell promptly reached out and took Mr Lester’s hand, even pulling both of the hands back into his lap.</p><p>“Okay, Phil, truth or dare,” Mr Howell said.</p><p>“Truth.”</p><p>“Scaredy-cat.”</p><p>“There are children here, Dan, and your dares-” Mr Lester cut himself off and then looked at Quinn, Alex and Jieun. “Okay, whatever. I say truth.”</p><p>“When did you have your first kiss?”</p><p>“Dan,” Mr Lester said.</p><p>“You have to answer,” Alex said. “It’s the rule of the game or we have to come up with a forfeit.”</p><p>“No, no, it’s okay. I’ll answer. I think I was thirteen?”</p><p>“Old,” Jieun mumbled.</p><p>“Even thirteen is old now?” Mr Howell asked and bumped his shoulder into Jieun. It was enough to make her look up.</p><p>“Yes, anything older than me is old,” she said.</p><p>“Hardly seems right.”</p><p>“Why are you complaining, Dan? You’re exactly the same!”</p><p>“Hey, I only tease <em>you</em> because I-” Mr Howell cut himself off.</p><p>Quinn looked over at Alex who was grinning but trying to hide it. “Do you two think you’re being subtle?”</p><p>“I… we… it’s,” Mr Lester said. He only stopped stuttering when Mr Howell squeezed his hand.</p><p>“You, dear child is too observant. Let’s focus on the game, shall we?”</p><p>They went back to playing but it wasn’t possible to pry a confession out of either Mr Howell or Mr Lester. However, they did keep holding hands the whole time and the way they talked to each other, it definitely seemed like they were close.</p><p>The game was cut short with Mr Lester’s phone rang and it turned out one of the teachers were looking for some help clean up after a kid that had been sick after eating too many sweets.</p><p>Alex only spoke up after both Mr Howell and Mr Lester were out of the room.</p><p>“Oh, they are definitely together,” they said, and it wasn’t like Alex to speak with so much confidence. Alex usually doubted the answer even when they had just double checked it. Quinn was proud to see that they weren’t so scared about speaking up more. Kind teachers had definitely helped with that.</p><p>“Their hands certainly look like they were made to fit each other,” Jieun said and showed the sketch she had been drawing during the game. It was just two hands clasped together but it was a familiar image, a near perfect copy of what they had just seen for minutes on end.</p><p>“Then we were successful. They are together and happy,” Quinn said and stuck a power pose. That didn’t feel like enough so she jumped up on the table too. She almost wobbled and fell but Alex and Jieun quickly moved to catch her.</p><p>Girls were really the best, and her girls were the best of the best. It was important to have someone and she really hoped that Mr Lester and Mr Howell could be there for each other.</p><p>*~*~*</p><p>December had the ability to move lightning fast. Dan hated it. It meant he was always late on shopping for gifts and attending too many social gatherings. He wanted to just curl up on the sofa with Phil, a hot chocolate and a corny Christmas film. It was the perfect way to spend December.</p><p>It didn’t help that he was also trying to organise being able to move to London to a flat that him and Phil had finally found with a stroke of pure luck. It was difficult to start setting it up when you were across the country.</p><p>Moreover, he felt like he had a sadness hanging in his chest. His final days as a teacher at his first ever school would be over soon. Mrs Cornell had come by one day, apparently home a little before the holidays from her grand sea adventure.</p><p>Dan didn’t like her much.</p><p>Even so, he handed over the notes on all of the students that he had prepared.</p><p>“Wait, you got Alex and Jieun to participate? Or did Quin threaten you? She might be scary but she’s just a little girl,” Mrs Cornell said when she flicked through his notes.</p><p>“Quinn is a force to be reckoned with but no, I wasn’t coerced. We just took it at their tempo. All of them are really talented, but Quinn blossomed in particular. For the spring musical, you might want to encourage her to go for the lead.”</p><p>Mrs Cornell didn’t look like she believed him and he supposed that was fair. All of the teachers, except for Phil, had warned Dan about Quinn and her bulldozing tendencies. She was pals with the principal at this point with how many times she’d been to see him but yet she was never severely punished. Silver tongue on that girl. Between that, Alex’s observant eyes and Jieun’s blunt honest, they were a force.</p><p>Dan was reminded of that when the three of them showed up at the drama room where he was tidying his stuff on the final day of school. He had made sure to thank all of his students throughout the week for making this such a welcoming place for him. He had kind of wanted to talk to the trio in particular but he wasn’t sure if that would be seen like a good thing.</p><p>And he couldn’t be sure that they wanted to hear from him anyway.</p><p>He was very wrong.</p><p>They came in with too many gifts. Framed drawings from Jieun of both him, and him and Phil together. A very specific collection of various flowers that he was sure meant something in flower language that he’d have to look up later from Alex. A close envelope and a box of the same chocolate that they had used a few months back from Quinn.</p><p>“What is all of this?” Dan asked, trying to keep hold of all the gifts that had been showed into his arms. He was struggling not to drop any.</p><p>“Gifts,” Jieun deadpanned and narrowed her eyes like she couldn’t believe he could be that obtuse.</p><p>“They’re just token of our appreciation,” Alex elaborated. “We really liked having you as a teacher. You… you made this first half year better than before.”</p><p>“And it’s because we’ll miss you. You will kick ass in London, we’re sure of that, but don’t forget us, okay?”</p><p>Dan felt the tears come on and he just about managed to put the gifts carefully down before he kneeled down and opened his arms. Three big kids came tumbling into them. Dan was thankful that he had very long arms so he could hold onto them all. They were nearly taller than him when he was on his knees but he liked that.</p><p>He liked looking up at the future generations.</p><p>Kind, compassionate, sharp and resourceful. The world would be a very different place once they started to become adults, if only they could remember themselves like this. Dan had so much faith in them.</p><p>“Dan, are you ready to-” Phil had been talking already before he was pushing open the door but he froze when he saw the group hug. “Oh, I’m sorry, I’ll-”</p><p>“Mr Lester,” Alex called. “Get in here. Only the kindest teachers get hugs.”</p><p>“Yeah, Phil, come join in the hug,” Dan said and he knew his voice sounded tight and he was sure that there were tears in the corners of his eyes. Phil knelt down too and soon it was five people wrapped up in a hug.</p><p>Dan would miss this so much.</p><p>“You all are going to do so well,” Phil said. “Even when Dan isn’t here anymore, even when I’m not your teacher anymore, you will do so well.”</p><p>“Only if you promise to take care of each other,” Quinn said.</p><p>“You have to pinky promise,” Alex said.</p><p>“Or we will come haunt you,” Jieun added.</p><p>Dan and Phil both chuckled and the hug broke up only for pinkies to be locked around pinkies all the way around in the new circle that formed.</p><p>“They you are going to promise to look out for each other too,” Dan said.</p><p>“Don’t forget us,” Quinn said and some of the tough bravado dropped away.</p><p>Dan and Phil looked at each other. Dan could see what Phil was thinking just as easy as he could feel the answer in his own heard. They spoke together.</p><p>“We could never forget you,” Dan said.</p><p>“Not for a hundred years,” Phil added.</p><p>Pinkies squeezed around pinkies and it was a sacred promise.</p><p>*~*~* 10 years later *~*~*</p><p>“No way,” Alex muttered under their breath and jumped up from the armchair, phone clutched tightly in hand.</p><p>They had only just sat down, intending to go over a quick scroll through the London pride hashtag to reminisce about the yesterday. It had been such a fun day, the first time they had gotten to attend properly.</p><p>“What did you see?” Jieun asked, crouched over a painting on the floor that was definitely not allowed in the terms of their flat agreement but neither her or the rest of the people in the flat cared much about that.</p><p>Jieun was lost in painting rainbows overlapping, incorporating all of the LGBTQ+ flags he could manage. She had been up since early this morning, even if all of them had been tired after such a long day.</p><p>“What it going on in here?” Quinn asked, walking from the cramped kitchen into the less cramped living room. She still insisted on carrying three mugs at all times, even after multiple spilling instances.</p><p>Alex had stopped trying to warn her off of it. It was no use. They smiled as Quinn handed them the green tea and instantly cupped one of their hands around the mug while the other held onto the phone valiantly. They looked at the screen again, just to see if the image had vanished.</p><p>It hadn’t. It was still as clear as day.</p><p>Quinn dropped Jieun’s hot chocolate next to her left arm and gently touched her elbow to remind her. Jieun moved almost automatically, reaching over and taking a big gulp. It was good that Quinn now always added cold milk and marshmallows and cooled down significantly because of it.  </p><p>Quinn squeezed into the armchair with Jieun. They could hardly fit but they curled around each other, months of practice making it a lot easier.</p><p>“So, what have you got?” Quinn asked and took a sip of her coffee.</p><p>“Do the two of you remember Mr Lester and Mr Howell? From Primary School,” Alex asked.</p><p>Quinn quirked an eyebrow and nodded while Jieun for a moment abandoned the painting and turned around the face them instead. She shuffled a little closer, hot chocolate and art momentarily forgotten.</p><p>“Duh,” Quinn said. “I loved those teachers. We all did. It’s crazy to think that one was just our teacher for six months. Heck, we only had Mr Lester for two years. But yeah, how could we forget them? They were the two first adult that I can remember talking about being queer. Mr Howell was the first out adult we ever met like that.”</p><p>Alex nodded and clutched their hand closer and the phone. They took a sip of their tea even with two sets of intrigued eyes on them. Alex still mostly liked speaking when they could sort their thoughts out.</p><p>“You know, I’ve read recent studies about how queer people tend to find each other and group together, even before they know that they are queer sometimes. It’s almost like you can just tell. There’s something there. You being kindred spirits without ever saying it.”</p><p>“Makes sense,” Jieun said. “We found each other after all.”</p><p>Still so blunt but also loving. Jieun’s smile softened and she looked a little embarrassed but Quinn was reaching a hand out, grabbing Jieun’s wrist and pulling until she could pull her up in the arm chair with them.</p><p>It was a chair for maybe a person and a half. All three of them knew how to pile up on each other though.</p><p>“Look at this,” Alex said and handed their phone over to Quinn who had the longest arms. She extended it so that they could all see.</p><p>“No fucking way!!” Quinn shouted, pulling the phone in to look closer and then back so the others could see again</p><p>“Oh, they look pretty,” Jieun said in that contemplative tone of hers. Her mind was already working over the details taking in every pit of the photo.</p><p>Alex looked at it again.</p><p>Mr Lester and Mr Howell at London Pride. Rainbow stamps on their cheeks. Big smiles and bright eyes. Hands slung around each other. A huge rainbow flag around their shoulder. The commentary was not complex or long. It was overwhelmingly simple but it said so much.</p><p>first pride 🌈 15 years together</p><p>“Those fuckers,” Quinn said but her voice was a mix of affection and surprise. “They were together. Back then. In school, they were together. God! Remember how we used to think that they would be nice together? The gifts! Secret admirers? We got that started and then we thought they started falling in love and just continued it but the jokes on us! They were already together.”</p><p>Quinn started laughing loudly and it made the whole chair shake a little but Alex just smiled and reached out to feel Quinn’s cheeks as she smiled widely. Jieun had taken the phone and she was still studying the photo with intense eyes.</p><p>“They’re really happy,” she said. “So happy.”</p><p>“Wait, let me see again!” Quinn said and grabbed the phone.</p><p>They fell back into reminiscence, old stories of their ten-year-old selves. As they spoke more histories came up and the afternoon was lost to nostalgic talk. It was a couple of hours down the line when Quinn posed a suggestion.</p><p>“We should send them our photo too, the one we took yesterday.”</p><p>“Say thank you,” Jieun said with a nod.</p><p>They had eventually untangled and Jieun was back on the floor. Different painting this time. She hadn’t finished with the old one but she had a revolving door of works in progress so this wasn’t new territory. One of Mr Lester and Mr Howell. Phil. Dan. Dan and Phil. It was weird to think of them like that but Alex quite like the sound of their names together.</p><p>“We should, shouldn’t we?” Alex said and scrolled through their phone. They found their favourite photo quite easily. “This one?”</p><p>They showed it to their girls who both nodded enthusiastically.</p><p>Alex sent the photo and then went back to the one of Dan and Phil. They wondered if they knew how much they had mattered to a trio of young kids a decade ago.</p><p>*~*~*</p><p>Dan as a rule didn’t really like looking too closely at his dms. It was usually just weird things, but there was something that made him check it that morning. The photo that he had posted of him and Phil had gotten a surprising amount of likes and so many lovely comments.</p><p>It was the first couply photo Dan had ever shared of them together, and he had been pleasantly surprised but the massive rush of love and support. Maybe that was why he checked his dms because already yesterday more lovely comments had been poured into those.</p><p>The username was @acealex, a nice alliteration Dan noted. Next, he saw the photo, three young people who couldn’t be more than in their late teens or early twenties. They all looked so happy. A blonde with a huge smile wearing a shirt with the lesbian colours, someone with a nonbinary hat over a mop of curly hair and an asexual pin to their chest and the last one covered in body paint and  holding up both the bi and the pan flags, photo caught mid-wave. There was something familiar about it but mostly it just made Dan smile. It looked like it was taken at London Pride yesterday and Dan wondered if he and Phil had walked past them and not realised.</p><p>Lastly, he read the text and he only got through about half of it before he was getting up from his spot and going to find Phil who was making dinner in the kitchen. Dan walked up behind him, giving him a back hug, and then handing the phone over.</p><p>“Dan,” Phil said sounding amused. “I’m cooking. Unless you want to switch days and cook for me today, then get out of my way, love.”</p><p>Dan’s heart melted. Even after all of these years, his love for Phil still burned so bright.</p><p>“You’ll want to see this,” Dan said, handing Phil the phone and pushing the pan off of the heat.</p><p>Phil indulged him. He always did.</p><p>“Wait, what? The… the kids from our first school? I can’t believe it.”</p><p>Dan looked over Phil’s shoulder, taking in the details of the photo. It was easy to see now that he had seen the names on the greeting. Quinn, Alex and Jiuen. They had turned into young adult. It made Dan feel a little old but there was also a pride blooming in his chest. His kids for however brief it has been had already grown up so much and they were out and proud. All of them queer. Dan wasn’t really surprised at that part but he was still fond at the thought that they had been able to figure themselves out, even if the labels might change over the years to come. No label was necessarily forever but right now they looked so happy to be able to fit themselves into some broad categories.</p><p>“Read the message, would you?” Dan asked. He felt like there were tears forming in the corners of his eyes.</p><p>This felt like such a big thing. Dan and Phil had both wanted to be teachers because they wanted to set a good example for kids and teach them. For them to be able to grow up in a kinder and warmer world.</p><p>Phil cleared his throat and he didn’t sound unaffected either. Dan hugged himself closer to Phil’s back and buried his nose in Phil’s shoulder.</p><p>“Hi Mr Lester and Mr Howell, I don’t know if you remember us but you both used to be our favourite teachers. We were the little trio of trouble makers that none of the other teachers seemed to like much, except the two of you. You helped us so much, not just getting better at both of your subjects but also with figuring ourselves out. We just stumbled across a photo of you at London Pride and it made us so happy. We are really happy that you have been together for so long and so happily by the looks of it,” Phil read up and now his voice was really shaking. He sniffled.</p><p>Dan looked up from Phil’s shoulder and reached around to take the phone from Phil’s hand. Phil turned around, pulling Dan into a proper hug and hiding his face in the crook of Dan’s neck.</p><p>Dan could feel him overflowing with emotions. Yesterday had been an emotional day. It had been the first time that they had dared to go to pride together. At their current schools, both were out gay men but it still felt like a different kind of vulnerability to post a photo together.</p><p>Even so, it had felt like time. It had felt so right.</p><p>Dan cleared his throat too. “We all live together and go to the same university now. We’re still figuring ourselves out, in more ways than one, but we know for sure that we are queer and that we love ourselves and each other. You two helped with figuring that out indirectly. Thank you again. Love, Quinn, Jieun and Alex.”</p><p>Dan was pretty sure that there was at least one tear escaping his eye. Phil sniffled against him.</p><p>“I think they always knew, you know?” Phil said. “That we were together or would be nice together. I’m not even sure how but I always felt so laid bare in front of those three. So perceptive in each of their own ways. But they never used it. They were kind kids.”</p><p>“You want to hear my theory with how they knew?” Dan asked.</p><p>“Is it going to make me cry more?” Phil asked, pulling back to look in Dan’s eyes.</p><p>Dan shrugged but smiled.</p><p>“I think queer people can sense each other. I think we gravitate towards each other, potentially even before anyone has come out. Just… this instinctive sense of belonging when you meet? Kind of like when we met and I just instinctively knew you would keep my heart safe when I started to fall.”</p><p>“Dan!” Phil complained but there was a smile on his lips and love in his eyes. “I’m already emotional over our lil queer kids and now you’re going to make me cry over our love too. I am getting too old for so many emotions.”</p><p>“Never,” Dan said triumphantly and pulled Phil into a kiss.</p><p>Two pride photos shared between five queer people had spread so much joy. The teachers had meant so much to the students but the students had also meant so much to the teachers in return.</p><p>The two gay teachers who had been secretly together had changed and improved at least those three students lives.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>
  <a href="https://secretlywritingstories.tumblr.com/post/639150080629309440/all-that-kindred-eyes-can-see-phan-teachers-au">Reblog on tumblr</a>
</p><p>This one was a lot of fun to write, even if it was a little difficult too. I absolutely fell in love with my three original characters, and I hope you like them and DnP in this. It just a big story of queer people realising that they gravitate towards each other. And the kids are kind of a metaphor for the phandom. </p><p>I hope you liked it and thank you again to, slg05, for prompting something that inspired me to write something I would otherwise probably never have written.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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